Crimson Catalyst
by SkyClimber
Summary: /Set during third series/ Arthur sets out to destroy an item of magic, and when Morgana tags along, she and Merlin both end up in a bad situation. They're forced to set out alone and journey miles and miles to find the solution. /eventual MerlinxMorgana/
1. Chapter One

**A/N: Alrighty! So, this idea has been bouncing around in my head for about a month now, and I took about three weeks working it all out and such, with some help from a very close friend of mine, and then the fourth week I spent writing the first chapter.**

**I thought it'd be really interesting to write about what would happen if Merlin and Morgana were forced to go on some kind of journey together during their third series hate relationship - but, of course, as the summary suggests, this will be eventual MerlinxMorgana. Not very heavy MerlinxMorgana, but it'll still be present.**

**So... I hope you enjoy! ^^**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Merlin_ or any of its characters. If I did, Arthur would have found out about Merlin's magic by now._**

* * *

**Chapter One**

The woods were silent as the prince's bright blue eyes locked on their unsuspecting target. He lifted his crossbow to take aim, closing his right aim and holding his breath. He slowly moved his finger to the trigger and with one quick twitch, sent the arrow rocketing through the air. His bated breath was finally released when the arrow pierced into the animal's side, causing a wide smile to break out across the prince's face.

"Ha!" he shouted, rising out of his crouched position. "Did you see that, Merlin? That's how it's done!"

Arthur's young manservant came out from behind the tree that he had been told to hide behind, his eyes moving over to observe the dead animal. He almost smirked.

"Congratulations, my lord, you killed a rabbit," Merlin teased, walking over to where Arthur stood. The prince gave his servant a stern look as he traded his crossbow back with his sword, which Merlin had been holding.

"Are you trying to say something, _Mer_lin?" Arthur asked, sliding his sword into his belt. Merlin shook his head.

"No, no, Sire, of course not."

With suspicion in his eyes, Arthur began walking towards where the rabbit's body lay.

"It's just that… I've seen better," Merlin commented, following his master.

"Merlin," Arthur said, turning to face the young man. Merlin's eyebrows rose. "Shut up," Arthur told him. Merlin smirked but nodded, and Arthur turned back around. "Besides, anything I shoot down is better than what you'd ever even try to. Even a rabbit like this one here."

Merlin's smirk vanished when he heard a nearby bush rustle. Arthur didn't seem notice as he knelt down to make completely sure that the rabbit was indeed dead. Merlin tensed up as he heard another rustle of leaves, and then everything was quiet again. The young warlock was completely still, but jumped when a group of men, all dressed in browns and blacks, came out of bushes and from behind trees, rushing towards the prince and his servant. Arthur reacted instantly, yanking the arrow out of the rabbit's body and throwing it straight into the heart of one of the pursuing men. He fell with a yelp while Arthur quickly drew his sword and Merlin tightened his grip on the crossbow.

They were hopelessly outnumbered nine to two, but they fought anyway.

Arthur's sword clashed with others as he was constantly turning in circles, and Merlin used the crossbow as some kind of club, swinging it into men's faces and stomachs.

When the fifth man fell, Arthur's shoulder was sliced open. He cried out in slight pain but tried to ignore it the best he could. But when he was blocking a blow from one man, another came up behind him, raising his sword above his head. Merlin slammed the crossbow into another man's face, instantly knocking him into unconsciousness, before looking over at Arthur's predicament. He focused his energy on the man behind his master, narrowing his eyes.

"_Gwthiwch ef drwy'r awyr,"_ he muttered, his eyes flashing gold. Just as Arthur slashed down his opponent, the man behind him was flung backwards through the air and crashed against a nearby tree. Merlin smirked to himself before whacking the crossbow into another man's face. The last three men who still held control over their consciousness fled from the spot, leaving their dead and/or unconscious mates behind them.

"Yeah! Don't ever show your faces around here again!" Merlin shouted after the,. He smiled up until he heard a groan come from behind him.

"Merlin, honestly, if they never do come back, it's not because of anything _you_ did," Arthur told him. He was clutching his left shoulder with his right hand, and Merlin could see the look of pain on the prince's face.

"We need to get you back to see Gaius before that wound becomes infected," Merlin told him, walking over to where the prince stood. He picked up the sword that Arthur had dropped after the fight had been won and slid it into the prince's belt for him.

"It's not" – he winced – "_that_ bad," Arthur argued, clutching his shoulder tighter. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Now is not the time to be a stubborn prat," the young warlock told the prince. "So please try to contain it."

As they walked off back towards Camelot, neither noticed the small red stone on the ground. It emitted a faint red glow as the two men walked away, and little streaks of red lightning skipped across its surface as Merlin secretly used magic to mend a tear in his jacket. The lightning disappeared as Merlin's use of magic ceased, but the red glow remained, slowly blinking on and off.

* * *

Arthur downed the tonic in one quick swig, smacking his lips a couple times because of the strange taste. Despite the bitterness on his tongue, he almost immediately felt relief from the burning in his shoulder. Whatever salve Gaius had rubbed onto the wound had only worsened the pain, though the elder had said it would help the wound heal quicker.

"Has the pain decreased?" Gaius asked, readying some bandages. Merlin was mixing another salve for Gaius to spread onto the wound as well. Arthur hoped it wouldn't sting as much as the previous one had.

"Yes, much," the prince answered, keeping his eyes on the thick brownish liquid slopping around in the bowl in Merlin's hand. "Uh, Gaius… you've already put a salve on, is a second one really necessary?"

"Oh, the first salve was applied to protect against infection and help the wound heal faster," the physician informed him. "This second salve is just to help the bandages stay secure a little better."

"And will it sting like the other did?" Arthur asked as Merlin set the bowl down on the table next to Gaius. The brown substance in the bowl differed greatly from the yellowish color of the first salve, and Arthur was grateful that he would have bandages covering his skin once the two were mixed on his shoulder.

"No, it shouldn't," Gaius reassured him. "And even if it did, you wouldn't feel much of anything. That tonic I just gave you should keep your shoulder a bit numb for the next couple of hours." He reached over and picked up the bowl from the table before pushing himself to his feet. He walked the few paces over to Arthur and dipped the tips of his fingers into the salve. The prince looked over at his servant, who was holding the ready bandages for Gaius' easy use. Gaius gently began rubbing the salve onto Arthur's shoulder, and Arthur cringed slightly at the coldness against his exposed skin, but quickly got used to it.

Only a few minutes later, Arthur's shoulder was completely bandaged and Gaius was washing his hands off. Merlin was helping Arthur carefully slip his blue tunic back on over the bandages.

"The wound should be just a scab in about a week, and completely healed in two," Gaius stated, drying his hands. "If it gives you any trouble, you know where to find me. It shouldn't give you too much, though."

"Thank you, Gaius," Arthur replied, wincing slightly as he stood up from the stool he had been sitting on for the past half an hour.

Just then, a knock on the door echoed through the room. All three men looked in the door's direction as Gaius called, "Come in." Sir Leon poked his upper body into the room, bowing his head slightly in Arthur's direction.

"The King has gathered the Royal Court in the throne room," the Knight announced, his gaze moving over each of the men. "You have been requested to attend. Arthur, you are also expected."

"Of course," Gaius responded. Sir Leon dipped his head at Arthur again before leaving the room.

"We should be going, then," Arthur stated, grabbing his leather jacket and starting towards the door. Merlin began following after him, sliding Arthur's leather jacket onto his arms carefully.

"I'll be there shortly," Gaius called after them and they exited the room.

"Do you think it's something bad?" Merlin asked as he and his master walked down one of the many long corridors of the castle.

"Is it ever something good?" Arthur retorted sarcastically.

"Good point," Merlin snickered quietly.

Two guards opened the large doors to the throne room, and Merlin and Arthur began the long walk down the wooden floor. King Uther sat on the large throne at the head of the room, two smaller thrones on either side of his. The Lady Morgana sat in the throne on the King's left, and the throne on his right remained empty, awaiting the arrival of the prince. The area in front of the stairs that lead up to the throne's landing was crowded with other members of the Court, including the highest ranked of the Knights. Merlin went to stand to the side by Guinevere, Morgana's maid, while Arthur strode up to his throne.

"Ah, Arthur, there you are," Uther greeted him.

"What is this about, father?" Arthur asked, taking his seat. "Has something happened?"

"Magic is at work against us yet again," the King hissed, his eyes narrowed in anger. "A woman came crying for help, and I said I would hear her once my Court was gathered."

Gaius slowly made his way towards the crowd, and when he was seen by Uther, the King stood and raised both of his arms. The chatter that had been whispering about came to a cease almost instantly, and Gaius took his place next to Merlin. Uther returned his arms to his sides and every head bowed in his direction simultaneously.

"I'm afraid we may be under a magical attack yet again," Uther announced. Merlin flipped his eyes over to rest on Morgana, and she returned his gaze. A cold stare was shared between them, until Morgana sneered unnoticeably at him and turned her attention back to the King. Merlin's eyes narrowed in her direction. "A woman from one of the outlying villages has pleaded for an audience with me because of something she believes to be associated with magic; I will hear her now."

On cue, a ragged looking woman in a worn dress that dragged along the smooth wooden floor walked out in front of the King, the crowd parting for her since two guards walked on either side of her. Her face was pale and tired, with purple circles under her deep blue eyes. Her light brown hair was worn back in a messy low ponytail threatening to come undone at any moment, and it bordered her round, fearful face. Her hands were shaking where she held them together in front of her stomach, and her cheeks were stained by tears.

"My lord," she whispered, barely loud enough for even the guards at her sides to hear. She gave a shaky curtsy and a bow of her head as Uther sat back down on his throne, resting his left elbow on the armrest and his chin in his hand. The woman looked back up at the King, a fresh tear beginning to worm its way down her cheek.

"It was the most horrifying thing," she began, and Merlin could tell that she was straining to merely project her meek voice loud enough. "My husband and I… Our village is very poor, and our crops have not been growing very well. My husband and I volunteered to venture to Camelot for help, and on our way here… we took a trail through the woods, Sire, and there was something small on the ground, just off the side of the trail. It was blinking a red color, on and off, on and off, on and off-" She choked up, grabbing at her chest as new tears began to slowly fall. Merlin saw both Uther and Morgana perk up in interest at where this woman's story was going, but Arthur remained laid back in his throne, his face resting in the palm of his hand. "My husband went to pick it up; I warned him that it could be dangerous, but he refused to listen. As soon as he touched it, my lord…" She choked up yet again, this time grabbing at her throat.

"Speak up," Uther ordered, looking about to get to his feet again. The woman looked fearfully up at the King, tears now running down her cheeks.

"It was a red stone, my lord," she stated, her lip quivering. "A small, red stone. And as soon as he touched it… it struck him down, Sire." A gasp washed over the entire crowd, and murmurs began to be heard. "It was some kind of lightning, Sire," the woman continued, her hand still on her throat. "Red lightning erupted from the stone… and killed my husband!" She threw both hands up to her face and began sobbing, falling to her knees. This was when Arthur sat up straighter and his face became much more serious.

"It must be destroyed," Uther announced, looking down at the crying woman. "Arthur, take some Knights and go destroy this… stone."

"Of course, father," Arthur responded, pushing himself to his feet.

"Don't take too many Knights, though," Uther warned. "Bandits roam these woods like a plague – we can't afford to lose too many of our men." Arthur held back a small grimace and nodded, making his way down the stairs. Morgana also got to her feet, watching Arthur and all of the present Knights stride down the hall. Merlin watched her carefully as her turquoise-green eyes bore into Arthur's back before turning and following the prince out of the throne room.

Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the group of men exit the throne room, the sound of the woman's sobs echoing in the suddenly tense air. Attempting to keep in her former character, she stepped down the stairs and kneeled down next to the woman, placing her hand gently on the woman's back.

"Your loyalty will not go unrewarded," Uther told the woman, sitting back down in his throne, his face now looking stressed. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, but I will make sure that your village is fed and fed well. You need not worry about your crops."

The woman looked up at the King when he said this, tried to say her thanks, but broke back into tears. Morgana helped her to her feet and the guards escorted her out of the throne room. Morgana watched them go, but turned when the King addressed her, noticing that the rest of the Court had left as well.

"Do not worry, Morgana, Arthur will find and destroy the stone," Uther told her. Morgana bit back the acid she felt rise in her throat and instead smiled.

"I'm not worried about the stone or Arthur, my lord," she stated. "What I am worried about is that poor woman…"

"She'll be fine," Uther dismissed, looking out one of the many large windows along one side of the room. "You need not worry about her either. How about you and I do something today, to take both our minds off of these events?"

Morgana smiled again. "As much as I would love to, my lord, I actually have much to do today. Perhaps another time?"

Uther grinned and nodded. "Of course."

Morgana gave him a slight nod of her head before turning and walking down the hall towards the doors. Her smile twisted into a scowl as she walked, but she held her head up high and her shoulders back so she still looked like a dignified Lady.

Whatever this stone was, she knew that it could be of some use to her and her sister, and she planned on retrieving it no matter what.

* * *

**A/N: I was conflicted with whether or not I wanted to kill off the woman's husband or just a friend of hers... idk, I feel mean killing off some random character's husband. XD;;**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Reviews are love, people, really! They're what inspire me to write more, and faster! ;)**

**(( Claire ))**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews everyone! I updated really quickly with this one cuz I just had a random burst of inspiration. For those of you waiting for a review on my story Overcome, it will updated next, I promise. Now, please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Morgana made her way towards Arthur's chambers, the clicks of her heels on the smooth stone floor echoing off the walls around her. She knew that Merlin would be in Arthur's chambers with the prince, but Arthur would immediately dismiss him when Morgana entered. She smiled to herself at the prince's stupidity.

Three light knocks was all she gave before opening one of the two wooden doors and poking her head into the room. Merlin was sharpening Arthur's sword in one of the chairs at the table right inside the door while the prince stood at the window, staring out at the woods beyond the city walls. His arms were crossed across his chest and he seemed to be deep in thought, but as soon as he heard his door open, he turned his head to see who had disturbed the unusual silence between him and his servant.

"Arthur, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," Morgana said in the sweetest voice she could muster, keeping her eyes away from Merlin, who she knew was glaring at her by now. Arthur pushed himself away from the wall and uncrossed his arms, walking over to stand behind the chair at the head of the table that Merlin sat at.

"You're bothering no one," he told her, and then turned his gaze to Merlin. "Merlin…"

"I know, I know," the warlock sighed in annoyance, placing the sword on the table. He pushed away from the table and got to his feet, walking towards the door that Morgana had now opened fully. Their eyes locked as he walked past her, and they could both feel the hatred that surged towards them out of the other's intense gaze. She held back her smirk as he exited the room and the door clicked, and she waited for his footsteps to fade into nothing before she began speaking.

"So it seems as if you have a little expedition tomorrow," she teased, moving forward. Arthur walked over and pulled out the nearest chair to her. She grinned at him and took her seat as Arthur moved back over and took his own seat in the chair he was just standing behind.

"It's more than a 'little expedition'," Arthur told her, smirking slightly. Morgana also let a smirk slip onto her face. "This… stone, that this woman spoke of, seems to be a threat to Camelot. It could be big, it could be small, but no matter what, it's dangerous. And my father is right – it must be destroyed."

"I'm not disagreeing," Morgana stated. "I just came to ease my curiosity and my… worry."

Arthur snorted. "You're worried about _me_?" he asked incredulously.

Morgana's smirk turned into a quick scowl, but she kept her elegant composure. "Yes," she almost hissed between her teeth. "Though I have no idea why, since you're such an arrogant pig."

They both stared at each other in silence, and then both began chuckling together. Morgana turned her head down and focused her gaze on one of the rings on her fingers.

"There's really no need to worry, Morgana, honestly," Arthur pressed, attempting to stop his dying chuckles. "I'll have some of my men there with me, and we're really just going into the woods and destroying a stone. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"You yourself just said that the stone is dangerous, no matter the size of its threat," Morgana reminded him, raising hr gaze to look into his bright blue eyes. "And by the story that this woman told, it doesn't sound like it will be any easy task to destroy it."

"Morgana-"

"How many men are you taking with you?" she interrupted.

"Sir Leon, Sir William, and Sir Romain. And, of course, Merlin, but he hardly counts." Morgana's smirk returned at that remark.

"That hardly seems like enough," she commented.

"Well, as I said, it should be an easy task."

Morgana leaned forward, crossing her arms on top of the table and staring intently at Arthur's relaxed expression. She laughed in her head to know how comfortable he was being around his unknown worst enemy.

"How do you plan to destroy an instrument of magic that is so powerful it killed a man just on contact?" she asked him quietly.

"I plan to speak with Gaius about it a little before setting out tomorrow," he answered easily, giving her a short wink. "I've got this whole thing worked out, don't worry."

"It's too late for that," she whispered, leaning back into her chair and putting on a sad expression, looking away from Arthur. The prince noticed the small pout on her face, rolled his eyes at it, and sighed in exasperation.

"You want something, Morgana, what is it?" She looked back up to meet his eyes, shaking her head.

"I want nothing, Arthur-"

"Morgana," he pressed, staring into her eyes. She stared back at him, amused at how easily it was to get him curious about what was running through her head. She knew that she would be able to persuade him to do her wishes, but at the same time, Arthur was a very difficult man, often acting out of his usual character. She tried anyway.

"I want to go with you," she told him quickly, and she was completely taken by surprise when he started laughing. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

"You… are not… coming with us," he told her between laughs. She scowled at him.

"Someone needs to protect that big head of yours," she stated haughtily. "Or wait… maybe it shouldn't be protected." Arthur sneered at her and she sent a smirk back in his direction.

"Morgana, I don't want you to get hurt," he told her simply.

"You just told me that it would be an easy task! You are so fickle, Arthur Pendragon, it's confusing." Arthur rolled his eyes at that. "And anyways… I don't want to go to destroy the stone. I just want to go to have something to do. Tomorrow is looking pretty empty for me, and a journey out to find a deathly magical stone sounds like the perfect activity. And plus, you know I can watch after your royal backside because you can't yourself."

"Father would have me killed if anything happened to you, you know that," Arthur told her. Oh, how she enjoyed that possibility.

"Which is why nothing will," she responded, smirking. They stared at each other in silence until Arthur finally sighed, and Morgana knew that he had given in.

"You will go _no_where near the stone when we find it, and you will _not_ go off alone. I'll probably have you stay with Merlin and the horses while the Knights and I search for the stone."

Morgana held back her grimace and forced a smile onto her face. "Of course," she forced out of her mouth. She hated the thought of being left with Merlin, but then again, if she killed him there, she could blame it on the stone…

"Get some rest, then," Arthur told her, standing up from his chair. Morgana smiled as she stood up with him and let him take her hands in his. "You'll need it." She nodded.

"You too," she replied. Arthur brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them both gently before bidding her goodnight. She gave him one last smile before turning towards his doors and letting the smile melt into a scowl and then twist into a smirk.

* * *

Merlin entered the physician's chambers to find Gaius sitting at his work desk reading intently from one of the many large books that littered the desk. The elder looked up from his reading when he heard the door open, and was surprised to see the young warlock enter the room.

"Merlin," he said in surprise, still hunched over the book. "I thought you were with Arthur."

"Morgana wanted to speak with him," Merlin replied, giving an annoyed, almost sarcastic smirk. He walked over to the opposite side of the desk from Gaius and sat down on the stool there, moving his eyes over the clutter of books and papers. "Have you found anything yet?"

"I'm afraid not," Gaius sighed, turning the page of the book in front of him. "Let's hope I do before you and Arthur leave tomorrow."

With a nod, Merlin grabbed one of the other large books, opened it, and began scanning page by page. He barely paid attention to any words, only stopping to read them if he saw a picture or illustration of any kind of stone. Hardly any of Gaius' books had colored illustrations, so he had no way of telling if a picture was red or not unless he read the words around it.

He smacked his hand down on the third book he had picked up as he read the words "blood-red" and "stone" next to an illustration of something that looked like a small pebble. Gaius gasped at the sudden sound and looked over at his ward, only to see disappointment settling in his despaired blue eyes. He sighed and shook his head before turning the page, cupping his cheek in his hand. A frown creased Gaius' forehead as he also went back to his book.

Merlin hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep until he was shaken awake by his mentor the next morning. Early beams of sunlight shone in through the windows of the castle, lighting up the physician's chambers a considerable amount. The young warlock groaned and his eyes fluttered open slowly, but then jerked wide and he sat up straight, running his hand through his hair.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked worriedly, looking out one of the windows.

"You fell asleep around midnight last night," Gaius told him. "Arthur and his men ride off in an hour; you need to get going."

"Why did you let me sleep in so late?" Merlin inquired, standing up in a hurry and rushing back to his own room, closing the door behind him.

"You needed your sleep!" the physician yelled back at him. When he got no reply, he sighed and sat back down at the desk, returning to his reading. He'd stayed up just until Merlin had fallen asleep, and then had gone to bed himself. Neither of them had found anything that matched the woman's story or description, and Gaius was fearful for what might happen if Arthur, Merlin, and the three Knights riding with them didn't have any information on what they were hunting to destroy.

A few minutes later, Merlin came rushing back out of his room, the blue neckerchief and red tunic he'd worn the day before replaced by his usual red neckerchief and deep blue tunic. His pants were a slightly darker shade of brown, so it was clear that he had changed them as well. He hurried towards the door of the chambers and threw it open to reveal Arthur standing in the hallway, his fist up and ready to knock. Merlin jumped slightly in surprise and raised his eyebrows.

"Arthur?" he questioned.

"Ah, so you are still alive," the prince stated. "I was beginning to wonder when you never showed up for duty this morning." Merlin gave him a small grin.

"Sorry… slept in a bit late…"

"Yes, I can see that."

Arthur moved past Merlin in one quick movement, and the warlock closed the door behind him. The prince walked over to where Gaius sat at his desk, instantly noticing how many books and papers cluttered the area.

"How is your progress coming with researching this stone?" Arthur asked, sitting down on the stool that Merlin had used the night before. Merlin sat on another stool a little ways away from the desk.

"Not good, I'm afraid, my lord," Gaius replied. "Merlin and I were up half the night searching through all of my books, and we found several red stones, but none that matched up with the one from the woman's story." Arthur sighed in frustration.

"We'll have to destroy it in any ways necessary then," he decided, standing back up. Gaius looked up at him with a worried and skeptical expression.

"Sire, that could be very dangerous," he warned him. "You know nothing of what this stone could do to you or the Knights."

"Or me," Merlin chipped in.

"We have no other choice," Arthur pressed, ignoring Merlin's comment. "This stone has already killed one man; that number could increase dramatically if we don't do anything to try to prevent it."

Gaius sighed. "Be careful, my lord," he mumbled. Arthur nodded only once before turning on his heel and making his way towards the door, motioning for Merlin to follow. "You too, Merlin," Gaius said as his ward walked after the prince. Merlin stopped and looked back at his guardian, giving him a small grin and a nod.

"Don't worry," he told the elder. With that, he grabbed the handle and closed the door on his way out. Gaius let out another worried sigh before turning his attention back to his books, trying desperately to find any sort of information on the mysterious stone.

Arthur led the way back up to his chambers and threw one of the doors open, walking in with a frustrated scowl on his face. Merlin caught the door as it bounced off the wall and swung back to close with Arthur's force and walked in after the prince, quietly closing the door behind him.

"What are you so angry about?" Merlin asked as Arthur walked over to stand behind the chair at the head of the table once again.

"I was counting on Gaius being able to find some kind of information about that stone," Arthur grumbled, bending over to rest his forehead on the top of the tall chair. "And now we have to go confront an item of magic without knowing anything about it or its origins."

Merlin sighed, moving over to stand behind one of the other chairs at the table. "Are you worried we won't be able to destroy it?" he asked.

"What are you talking about, _Mer_lin? It's just a stone!" Arthur replied, lifting his head once again.

"Then stop complaining," Merlin told him. "Why did we come all the way back up to your chambers anyway if your chainmail and armor are down in the armory?"

"My sword," Arthur answered, looking down at the sword on the table in the exact spot Merlin had left it the day before when Morgana had come in to talk. Merlin looked at it as well, and rolled his eyes. He walked around the end of the table, picked the sword up to check that it was sharp, and then walked over to hand it to Arthur.

"Let's go then, shall we?" the servant asked, making his way towards the doors. Arthur grabbed his leather belt from a hook on the wall near the door carried it in his hand as he followed Merlin down the hall. They reached the armory in a matter of minutes, and Arthur's chainmail and armor was all set out nicely on a table. Although Arthur would never admit it, it actually looked like Merlin had done a good job polishing it all the day before.

Merlin set to work readying Arthur in his armor as the prince focused on trying to think of a way to destroy the stone once they found it. He wasn't sure if he wanted any of them touch it, so maybe they'd take a couple spears to poke and pry at it… Or maybe a mace could crush it…

Merlin wrapped the leather belt around Arthur's waist once the chainmail was on, handing the prince his sword to slide into the belt himself. Like Arthur, Merlin's mind was on the task ahead of them as he lowered the shoulder armor over Arthur's head and began securing and tightening it all. He didn't know how powerful the stone's magic was, but he had a feeling that it wasn't weak. If only he or Gaius had been able to find information about it… That would have made everything easier. He'd have to take his chance with using his magic against the stone's, no matter how powerful the item was… which meant that he would have to find the stone before Arthur or his Knights did.

A little while later, the prince and his servant exited the castle and met the three accompanying Knights in the courtyard. Merlin raised an eyebrow when he counted six horses waiting, and he hurried over to Arthur's side.

"Did you forget to tell me something?" Merlin asked, his eyes on the white horse at the end of the row. Arthur looked over at him and followed his gaze.

"Oh, no, I didn't forget, I just figured she'd come to tell you herself," he replied. Merlin's eyes went wide and he whipped his head back to the side, looking Arthur in the eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, though he feared he already knew the answer. At that moment, Morgana, in the outfit she'd worn when they had set off to Merlin's home village and when she had risen an army of the dead to attack from the inside of Camelot, came out of the castle and descended the stairs. Both Arthur and Merlin noticed her, and while Arthur's forehead creased, Merlin's eyes widened.

"Morgana insisted on coming with us today," Arthur confirmed Merlin's fears, and the warlock tightly shut his eyes in exasperation and disbelief.

"Of course she did…" he whispered. He reopened his eyes in time to see Morgana look over at him. Another cold glare was shared between the two, until she let a gentle smile grace her lips because of Arthur's presence. The prince gave her a small wave, which she nodded her head at, before turning to discuss something with the three Knights.

"Merlin, make sure the horses are ready," Arthur ordered before he started talking to the Knights. Merlin didn't respond as his eyes were locked on Morgana, whose sweet smile had now twisted into an amused smirk in Merlin's direction. The young warlock's eyes narrowed as he made as way over to the horse on the opposite end of the line from Morgana's. He quickly checked each saddle on the horses, and then took his time on the horse next to Morgana's, where the Lady seemed to be checking her own saddle to make sure it secure.

"Whatever you think you'll gain from this, Morgana," Merlin started, tightening the saddle just a little, "don't expect me to let you gain it." She smirked again.

"And you think you're able to stand in my way of anything?" she asked, stroking her horse's white mane.

"I have before," he reminded her. She turned around to face him just as he walked around to the same side as she was on. They stood in between the two horses, blocked from the view of Arthur and his Knights, and there was hardly anyone else in the courtyard at the moment. Merlin almost considered them to be alone, and Morgana did as well, as she wasn't afraid to hide her sneer.

"And that's exactly why you won't again," she told him darkly.

"You're a fool if you think that I'll just give you what you want," Merlin stated, his eyes hard.

"And you're a fool if you think that I can't get what I want," she retorted. Merlin didn't reply as they stared into each other's eyes. "Nothing to say to that?" Morgana asked him. "Good. I'm not afraid to get rid of you when Arthur is only yards away, so keep to your own business."

Merlin hadn't realized how close they had stepped towards each other until Morgana turned around and walked back towards her saddle, throwing her long braid back over her shoulder before mounting her white horse. Merlin's narrowed eyes followed her every move until Arthur called his name and told him that it was time to leave. The warlock hoisted himself onto the saddle on the horse next to Morgana's and forced himself not to look at her as they all took off out of the courtyard.

* * *

**A/N: So there ya have it! I tried to make it a bit like how it went down in _'The Castle of Fyrien', _what with Merlin not knowing of Morgana's accompaniment until the moment of.**

**Please review! Seriously peoples, reviews help me keep writing! So please just drop one off! ^^**

**(( Claire ))**


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: Whoo! Back with an update! This one's really not all that long, and I apologize for that ahead of time, but I'm still proud of it all the same. Writing Merlin and Morgana's hate relationship is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be, despite the fact that I ship them together. XD**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Morgana rode right beside Arthur, involved in a quiet conversation with him, while Merlin's horse trotted along behind them. He burned his eyes into Morgana's back, and he was sure she realized that he did, even though she never looked back at him. He strained his ears to try to hear what they saying to each other, and he could have sworn he heard his own name come quietly from Arthur's mouth, but it was all drowned out by a low rumble of thunder overhead. Together, all six of them turned their heads upwards to look at the dark grey sky through the trees.

"That's not very encouraging," one of the three Knights behind Merlin muttered, though he couldn't exactly make out the voice.

"Keep moving," Arthur ordered. "A little rain is not going to stop us." Morgana chose this moment to turn her head back and give Merlin a glare, which he returned. She merely stared coldly at him, narrowed her eyes after a few seconds, and turned back around to face forward once again. Merlin kept his eyes on her silky black braid, and he wondered what it was she wanted to achieve from this journey. She was obviously interested in the stone that they had set out to destroy… but something in her eyes told Merlin that she didn't know anything more about the item than he or Arthur did.

He couldn't help the gnawing feeling of curiosity from bubbling inside him as well. If he was honest with himself, Merlin wanted to find the stone and take it back to Gaius to try to decipher its purpose instead of watching it be destroyed. He wanted to see if he could, in any way possible, use it to further protect Arthur and Camelot – it could be just as good as it could be bad.

And he definitely was not going to stand by and let Morgana get her hands on it. He knew for sure that she would immediately take it to wherever Morgause was hiding out and they would try to use it to their own evil purposes. If it could kill a man merely on contact, he couldn't even begin to fathom how much death and destruction it might be able to cause when coupled with magic like Morgause's.

They all came to a halt for the third time, and Arthur and the Knights all jumped off of their horses and pulled their swords out into their hands. Merlin and Morgana slid down onto the ground as well as the four Knights began walking into the trees in four separate directions, not straying too far from the trail that they had been riding on. Merlin proceeded to check all of the saddles, as he had done at both of their previous stops, to make sure everything was secure. Morgana stood next to her horse with her eyes softly closed as another crack of thunder rolled above their heads. Merlin watched her still form from behind, but jerked his gaze upwards when a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the forest with a quick golden tinge. Morgana's pale green eyes snapped open as soon as the lightning cut across the sky, but they opened in frustration. She turned around to see Merlin's head still back, looking up at the sky, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly as he swallowed.

"Not afraid of a little thunderstorm, are you, Merlin?" Morgana mocked, sneering at him as he lowered his head and looked at her.

"Not in the slightest," he replied. Cocking his head to the side, he added, "And yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she muttered darkly, turning away from him. His lips twitched as he fought back a smirk.

Arthur and the Knights returned to the horses not too long later, reported that none of them had found anything, and then they were all on their way down the trail again. They tried to ignore it when it started to rain, the droplets of water falling through the net of branches above their heads. Some larger drops splattered down on top of their heads after gathering on an overhead leaf and then dripping down. It was only a matter of minutes before all six of them were completely soaked, and the soft thud of dirt beneath their horse's hooves turned into loud splashes of mud.

"Stop here," Arthur commanded, wiping his dripping wet hair out of his eyes once again. He pulled on his reins and forced his horse to stop, jumping down onto the muddy trail at the same time as his Knights did. They, once again, walked off into the trees in different directions, leaving Merlin and Morgana alone once more. They listened to the pitter-patter of rain on the leaves above while they waited for the Knights to return.

Merlin was just sliding onto the trail when it hit him. Some strong, invisible force struck him full-on, and his head was thrown back harshly. A high-pitched ring infiltrated his thoughts, and he grabbed at both sides of his head as the noise seemed to cause pain. He squeezed his eyes shut but made a weak attempt to stay out of Morgana's line of sight; if she saw the state he was in, she would automatically become suspicious. But become suspicious of what? Merlin didn't even know what it was that was causing him pain, making him squeeze the sides of his head, clench his teeth together, fight against his rising magic.

Magic. That's what was causing this. And as soon as he figured it out, it abruptly disappeared. The pain, the ringing noise, all of it – it was gone. Almost as if it had never happened. His head felt normal, his thoughts the same… It had definitely been magic. Almost like… when Morgana had used that staff to attack Camelot from the inside… and he had been running through the hall…

It was the stone. It had to be. What else could it be? That meant that they were near it… maybe Arthur or one of the Knights had already found it. No, they would have returned with it by now if they had. He had to find it before they did… but he couldn't leave Morgana here alone. And he also couldn't take her with him. His decision, however, was not made, for Arthur returned just then, shortly followed by Sir Leon, Sir Romain, and then Sir William. They all reported negatively, and Arthur instructed them to saddle up again.

"Wait, Arthur!" Merlin called out. The prince looked to his servant, along with the Knights and Lady. Another roll of thunder deafened them all, followed by another streak of lightning, and the rain seemed to pelt down harder than before, but none of them moved.

"What is it now, _Mer_lin!" Arthur yelled over the noise of the rain.

"I think… I think we should look a little harder around this spot!" Merlin told him, squinting against the piercing wet droplets. He would have thought that the trees above their heads would shelter them from rain like this, but it looked like he was wrong. The trees did nothing to stop the liquid from falling from the sky. "I have a feeling that the stone is around here somewhere!" He didn't miss the fact that Morgana's eyes narrowed in his direction.

"And why should we rely on a feeling of _yours_!" Arthur shouted.

"I'm not saying you should _rely_ on it exactly! Just… give me a few minutes to look around?" Arthur groaned, lifting his face towards the sky and letting it be splattered by rain.

"Fine! You have _five_ minutes! Did you hear me?"

"Thank you, Sire!" Merlin smiled, turning towards the forest.

"I'm coming with you!"

Ice swarmed into his blood at the sound of her voice, but he stopped and looked back at her as het feet splashed onto the muddy trail. Arthur also looked at her, holding out one of his arms to stop her from going any closer to Merlin.

"No, Morgana, you're to stay with us," he said to her. She looked him sternly in the eye, raising her eyebrow.

"We won't go too far from the trail," she told him. "And don't worry – I'll protect Merlin here." Merlin's nose twitched in annoyance as a mocking smirk slipped its way onto Morgana's lips. Arthur thought about it for a second, and then handed Morgana his sword.

"Five minutes!" he repeated as she walked over to where Merlin stood, water dripping from his prominent chin. She looked darkly over at him and smirked as she passed him, and he threw a quick glare in Arthur's direction before following her into the trees.

Off the trail and actually inside the trees, the rain lessened. The sound of the droplets bouncing off the many leaves surrounding them became almost melodic as the two of them pushed through the trees, Merlin's eyes searching the ground while Morgana's just stared forward. Once they were a good few yards into the trees, Morgana turned on Merlin and held Arthur's sword up towards him, causing him to stop abruptly and look intently into her dead-set eyes.

"Morgana…" he warned.

"I told you I wasn't afraid to get rid of you with Arthur only a few yards away," she reminded him, moving closer with the blade aimed at his chest. He didn't dare move a muscle as the tip of the blade touched his chest, but he did continue talking to her.

"And what exactly do you think getting rid of me will do for you?" he asked. As she pressed the blade a little harder against his chest, he caught a flash of red in his peripheral view. He didn't move his eyes towards it, however, knowing that that might lead Morgana's gaze to it as well.

"You're just a servant," Morgana chuckled darkly. "A servant who knows too much. Getting rid of you would eliminate all threats against Morgause and I and you would hardly be missed in Camelot."

"How would you explain my death? You can't deny that you were last to be seen with me, walking into the trees. And a sword wound to my chest would be evidence as clear as day… since you're the only one with a sword here."

"I would blame the stone," she told him smoothly, pressing the blade harder still against his soaking wet shirt. "Everyone in Camelot believes you to be a foolish idiot, which you are, and they would believe instantly that you were stupid enough to pick the stone up and get yourself killed."

"Sword wound, Morgana," Merlin repeated, throwing a quick glance down at the blade pressed against his chest. Just then, he whipped his head in the opposite direction of where he'd seen the red flash come from, and said, "What the hell was that?" Morgana was successfully distracted, as she turned her head in the direction he had, and when she did he bolted in the other direction, towards the stone. Morgana noticed his attempt, and then caught sight of the stone on the ground, and quickly threw the sword at Merlin's moving back. It missed him by a few mere inches, and sunk deep into a nearby tree trunk. Morgana's eyes narrowed as she took off after Merlin, but he had already gotten to the stone. Just as he kneeled down to grab it, Morgana threw herself at him and tackled him to the ground.

They turned and rolled on the ground, taking turns pinning one another down to the wet ground. Merlin tried throwing her off, but she successfully pinned his arms down roughly with her knees and slid a dagger out from under her metal belt. Merlin wrestled against her knees, wrenching one of his arms free. He caught her arm as she tried to bring the dagger down into his throat, and twisted her over onto her back once again. They rolled again, crashing into the same tree that Arthur's sword had sunken into, and continued trying to keep the other away from the stone.

Morgana had her hand around the warlock's throat and Merlin had his hand pressed down against the witch's forehead when Arthur's voice rang out, "It's been _six_ minutes!"

With Merlin distracted, Morgana threw him off of her by his throat, accidentally rolling him straight towards the stone since she couldn't throw him the way because of the tree. Merlin coughed lightly as Morgana struggled to her feet, her hair now a complete mess and her entire body covered with mud, but she took no notice as she hurried towards where Merlin and the stone lied. Merlin noticed her running towards him, and so he quickly turned onto his other side and reached out for the blinking red stone.

Their hands touched the stone at the exact same moment, and a bright red light blinded them. Electricity erupted from the stone, snaking up their arms and wrapping around their entire bodies, causing both of them to scream in pain. Their eyes opened wide for a brief second, though neither of them could see past the black dots that danced across their vision, and their irises flashed gold. Merlin could only relate this pain to when he had been stung by a Serket back when Morgause had left him to die in Darkling Wood… though he easily could say that this was worse.

As abruptly as it had started, it vanished, the little streaks of ted lightning being sucked back into the seemingly harmless stone. Both Merlin and Morgana fell unconscious immediately, their arms still outstretched towards the stone. Neither of them were able to notice the stone be whisked into nonexistence by the wind.

* * *

**A/N: Ooooo, cliffhanger! I really had fun writing out their little tustle at the end there, and if I'm honest with myself, the image of "Morgana had her hand around the warlock's throat and Merlin had his hand pressed down against the witch's forehead" makes me giggly. XD ((Psst, if anyone wants to try to give that a draw, I would love you forever.))**

**Anyway! Reviews are love everyone! I'll be back with another update as soon as possible! :)**

**(( Claire ))**


	4. Chapter Four

**A/N: I am soooooo incredibly sorry for the long wait. DX I have been so stressed out with school lately; I've had almost NO time to just sit down and write. That's probably why this chapter didn't turn out as well as it probably could have. It's a very simple chapter with a LOOOOOOT of dialogue, but still provides you with the information you need to get further into the plot. I will try my best to update sooner with chapter five, I promise.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Merlin's bright blue eyes fluttered open to the sight of the ceiling of his bedroom in Gaius' chambers. He tightly squeezed them shut again as the sunlight streaming in through his window blinded him. He groaned and reached his shaky hand up to his head; something didn't feel right to him, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. He scratched at a slightly irritating burn on the back of his neck, at the base of his hairline, before moving his hand to the side of his throbbing head. He tried to remember what had happened to him, but only red flashes between images of Morgana's face flashed through his mind. He could vaguely remember getting into a quarrel with the witch, but any details were lost to him.

The silence of his room was broken as Gaius pushed the small wooden door open, a bowl in his elderly hands. When the physician saw that his nephew was sitting up, he gasped quietly.

"Merlin," he murmured, walking over to the side of the warlock's bed. Merlin's eyes moved with him. "You're up," Gaius stated, surprise apparent in both his voice and his eyes.

"Thanks for letting me know," Merlin muttered, his voice a little rasp. He cleared his throat as Gaius looked him over.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My head feels a bit strange… and I can't remember what exactly happened. I know it had something to do with Morgana…"

"Speaking of Morgana…" Gaius began. Merlin turned his eyes up to the old man's face. "I was just sent word that she just awoke as well. I was coming in to check on how you were doing before going up to see her."

"Morgana has been unconscious too?" Merlin asked.

"Yes. Arthur found both of you out cold just a few feet off the trail in the woods." Merlin's eyes widened. "Gwen and Arthur both have been worried about both of you."

"Arthur has been worried about _me_?" the warlock said, chuckling a bit.

"More than he really lets on, I'm sure," Gaius responded. "Now then, I must tend to the Lady Morgana. You will be all right here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, Gaius," Merlin murmured, desperately trying to regain any sort of memory of what happened to him and Morgana. Gaius nodded and left without another word, and Merlin listened to his footsteps as he crossed the main part of their chambers and the creaking of the door let the warlock know that his mentor had left.

What had happened to him and Morgana? He lied back down and stared up at the ceiling again, closing his eyes and falling back into thought. Setting out with Arthur, Sir William, Sire Leon, Sir Reginald… no, wait, it was Sir Romain. The rain, the thunder, the lightning, the mud… rolling around in the mud… Morgana shoving his cheek down into the wet ground… a bright red light… pain…

His eyes whipped open again as an image of the stone came back to him. He remembered touching the smooth surface of it and the sting as a shock of red electricity had surged throughout his entire body. He remembered another, feminine hand touching the stone at the same moment… Morgana had been the only female with the group… That must have been why she was unconscious like he had been, Merlin figured. But if Arthur had found them passed out there… he must have taken the stone and already destroyed it. Merlin cursed in his head as he ran his hand through his tousled black hair.

* * *

"And you're sure you're all right?" Gaius asked, having not stood up from the edge of Morgana's bed quite yet. The sorceress gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"Yes, Gaius, I'm sure," she assured him. "Just a little fuzziness in my head is all."

"It's strange… Merlin said that he can't remember the events that happened either." Morgana's smile faltered slightly at the sound of Merlin's name.

"Perhaps we both tripped and hit our heads when we fell," she suggested, taking her eyes away from the physician's. Gaius' own eyes narrowed slightly as he saw her lips twitch slightly as she stared down at the bed sheets covering her body.

"It did rain pretty hard… the ground must have been slippery out in the woods," Gaius agreed, finally pushing himself to his feet. Gwen started to pour some water from a pitcher into a glass as the elderly man stood, walking it over to hand gently to Morgana.

"Thank you, Gwen," the Lady murmured, taking a small sip, still staring at her sheets. Gwen gave a small curtsey before moving back over to the table she had been standing at and starting on putting away the clean laundry laid out on top of it.

"Now, I want you to stay in bed for at least another hour, and if your head is still feeling dizzy, send for me," Gaius told the King's ward. She didn't respond, but gave him a nod of the head. The physician looked her up and down once more before turning towards the door. "Watch after her, Guinevere," he said to the maid. Gwen looked up from folding one of Morgana's many dresses and smiled.

"Of course, Gaius," she replied with a nod of her head. Gaius nodded back at her, took one last look at Morgana, who was still staring at her sheets, before turning and exiting the room.

"I'm glad it's nothing serious," Gwen said, trying to fill the awkward silence that blanketed the room after Gaius had gone.

"Hmm?" Morgana hummed, finally looking up from her sheets. "Oh, yes," she said with a smile. "As am I."

"And it's a good thing that Merlin has recovered as well. I was really worried about the both of you." Gwen moved over to one of Morgana's cabinets and placed four folded dresses neatly on one of the shelves inside before walking back over to the table to continue. She didn't notice the scowl on Morgana's face at her maid's mention of the warlock.

"Yes…" the Lady murmured. "It is a very good thing." Gwen raised an eyebrow at Morgana's strange tone she used to say that, but thought nothing of it.

An hour went by quickly, with Gwen keeping a constant eye on Morgana while doing a multitude of chores around the sorceress's chambers. Morgana spent the entire time slowly sipping the same glass of water Gwen had given her and staring at her bed sheets, trying to resurface any memories of the events that had happened in the woods. All she could remember was Merlin, a sword, a red light, and mud. And pain, which she could remember more than anything. She could still feel a stinging sensation in her hand, though she couldn't remember why. She didn't tell this to Gaius or Gwen – if she didn't know why her hand felt like this then it was not a good idea to tell others.

Gwen finished sweeping the smooth stone floor and admired her handiwork, observing the newly cleaned bed chambers, and then walked over to the side of Morgana's bed. She noticed that the glass she had given the Lady a little over an hour earlier was still half full and was clutched tightly in both of Morgana's hands as the King's ward didn't move her eyes from the sheets over her legs.

"How is your head feeling, my Lady?" the maid asked quietly, reaching out to place her hand on Morgana's shoulder. The sorceress jumped slightly at Gwen's touch, resulting in the maid to draw her hand back in surprise. "I'm sorry…"

"No, no, you have nothing to apologize for," Morgana said quickly, unlocking her hold on the cup to place it on the small table next to her bed. "I was just lost in thought is all. My head is better, much better, thank you."

"Shall I ready a bath, my Lady? You're rather dirty from the mud."

Morgana nodded. "I could use a bath right now… my muscles feel very tense."

Gwen merely nodded before setting off to ready a bath of hot water. Morgana reached her hand up and rubbed at a slightly irritated spot on the back of her neck as she threw her sheets down towards the end of her bed and swung her legs over the side. When she ran her hand through her hair, she cringed at how many knots clumps of dried mud her fingers ran into.

"Gwen, prepare another, separate bowl for me to wash my hair in please," the Lady said when Gwen came back into the room. "I don't want to turn my bath water into mud." Gwen smiled and giggled a bit.

"Certainly, my Lady," the maid responded, curtseying again. "Will you be in any need of assistance with washing your hair out?"

"I think I might need some help with this mess, yes," Morgana said, her fingers getting stuck in the middle of a large knot in her long black hair. Gwen smiled and nodded before leaving for more water.

On her way back to Morgana's chambers, Gwen nearly ran straight into Merlin. They both chuckled with each other as some of the water sloshed out of the bucket in Gwen's hands and onto the floor. They both looked down at the puddle.

"I should probably clean that up," Gwen murmured, beginning to set her bucket down. Merlin stopped her with his arm.

"No, no," he said. "With any luck, Arthur will slip on it." They both laughed quietly and Gwen playfully pushed Merlin against his chest. He finished his chuckles and became suddenly serious in a matter of only a few seconds.

"How's Morgana?" he asked quietly.

"She's doing well," Gwen answered, kneeling down to begin dabbing at the small puddle with the bottom of her dress. "She's a mess though, so I'm readying her bath."

"Gaius tells me that she can't remember anything that happened," Merlin stated.

"He tells us the same about you," Gwen replied, looking up at him.

"Only images," Merlin admitted. "And hardly any at that. Would it be possible for me to speak to her later tonight? After her bath, of course." Gwen knew he'd deny it, but when she looked up at him again when he said this, she saw a faint red tinting his pale cheeks.

"I'm sure that will be all right," she said, grinning. She picked the bucket back up in her arms and stood up again, the puddle of water now gone. "I'll let her know you wish to speak with her."

"No, no, no, Gwen, don't," Merlin told her hastily, his blue eyes urgent. Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Just… don't. Okay?" Gwen looked at him confusedly.

"Alright… I won't…" she said slowly, staring into his intense eyes.

"Thank you. Now… go have your… girl time." Gwen smirked.

"And you go have your boy time with Arthur." Merlin laughed.

"Ha. I was injured on the job yesterday. Therefore, I rightfully have today off."

Gwen chuckled and rolled her eyes, walking past Merlin and towards Morgana's chambers. "I'll see you later, Merlin." The warlock didn't reply as he began walking backwards the other way, and yelled when he slipped on something and fell to the stone floor. Gwen turned around and at first was worried, but then broke into laughter.

"It's not funny, Guinevere," Merlin told her, attempting to hold back laughs of his own.

"I'm sorry, but you had that coming," Gwen laughed. Merlin pushed himself back to his feet, feeling a wet spot on the back of his blue tunic ((he wasn't wearing his usual jacket or neckerchief)).

"I thought you cleaned it up!" Merlin complained.

"I guess I missed a spot," Gwen responded, still laughing. She turned and continued on back to Morgana's chambers while Merlin chuckled to himself and uncomfortably walked back to his and Gaius' chambers.

* * *

Gwen brushed through Morgana's newly washed hair, satisfied that it went through her hair without running into a single knot or clump of dried mud. She smiled at Morgana through the mirror on top of the desk they were at.

"So… what shall we do with your hair, my Lady?" the maid asked. "Do you want it braided, or just wear it done, or up on top of your head…?"

"I think a braid would do nicely," Morgana replied, reaching her hand up to rub at the back of her neck again. "But, before you get started, can you check the back of my neck? It feels like I have a rash." Gwen nodded, lifted away Morgana's hair, and gasped at what she saw.

Merlin finished eating his dinner and pushed himself up from the small table that he and Gaius ate at, took his plate over the small sink in the corner, and then made his way towards his room. He could still feel that wet spot on the back of his shirt since he hadn't had time to change earlier – Gaius had ordered him down to eat the moment the young warlock had walked in the door.

He had just pulled off his tunic when Gaius walked into his room, half of a roll in his hand. Merlin was facing away from the door, so Gaius got a good look at his whole backside, and the elderly man's eyes widened and a gasp escaped his wrinkled lips when he saw the back of the warlock's neck. Merlin twirled around instantly, his eyes wide, but then calmed down when he saw that it was just Gaius.

"Gaius, what's wrong?" Merlin asked, taking a step forwards. "Oh come on, I don't look that terrible without a shirt on," the young man joked when his mentor didn't respond.

"Merlin… what is that thing on the back of your neck?" Gaius asked, not even acknowledging the comment his nephew had made. Merlin's eyebrows rose.

"I figured it was some sort of rash," he answered. "It's been irritating me ever since I woke up. Why, what is it really?"

Before Gaius could answer, they both heard the door out in the main part of the chambers burst open and Gwen's voice rang out, "Gaius!" Gaius hurried out of Merlin's room and into the main chamber while Merlin grabbed his clean, dry red tunic off his bed and hurried out with it in his grasp. He pulled it on as he descended the stairs in front of his room and slid his arms through while he walked over to where Gaius and Gwen stood.

"Are you sure that's what it looked like?" Gaius was murmuring to her. She nodded, tears in her eyes.

"She says it's been irritating her ever since she woke up earlier this evening," the maid told him. "She thought it was a rash of some kind."

"What's going on?" Merlin asked as he walked up to the two of them. Gaius turned to face him while Gwen's teary eyes moved past the physician to rest on his nephew.

"Morgana has the same thing as you do on the back of her neck," Gaius informed him. The physician grabbed his bag off a nearby table and immediately exited the room, motioning for Merlin and Gwen to follow him. The two servants shared one quick glance before hurrying after him, Merlin reaching his hand back to rub at the back of his neck once more.

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuun. What is this strange "rash", hmmmmm? ;)**

**I'd also like to apologize to everyone who knows that I'm a frequent reader of their stories. I am completely aware that you all have updated one or more chapters of your stories, and I am just itching to read them, but like I said beforehand, I've been totally stressed lately and have had hardly any time to sit down and read or write. I will read and review every newly posted chapter as soon as I am possibly able. I will try my best to make that this weekened, but I can't make any promises.**

**Virtual cookies to anyone and everyone who leaves me a review! Seriously peoples, reviews lift my spirits and boost my confidence and inspiration! :D**

**(( Claire ))**


	5. Chapter Five

**A/N: Whoo! Back with another chapter! I am so happy that so many people are enjoying this story - I am enjoying writing it so much! :3 I'm sorry for the bit of a delay on this update, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Gaius stared at it for another moment, as if doing so would somehow alter its appearance or grant him some kind of knowledge as to what it was. Morgana sat in front of her mirror, her long black hair pinned up against her head, as Gaius observed the back of her neck. Merlin stood near the Lady's large bed with Gwen looking at the back of his beck, nervously throwing glances in Gaius and Morgana's direction every few seconds.

"…the most peculiar thing," the physician murmured, running his frail old fingers tenderly across the mark at the nape of Morgana's neck. "In all my years, I don't believe I have ever seen anything quite like it."

A small red mark in the shape of a wingless dragon, its body swiveled in such a way that it looked like it formed a backwards letter "S", seemed to be engraved into Morgana's skin, and Merlin had the exact same thing in the exact same spot. Both of them told Gaius how it itched and slightly burned like some sort of rash, and Gaius noticed how the mark almost gleamed when it caught the right light as some kind of reflective surface might; the elderly physician couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Did anything strange happen to either of you within the past few days?" he asked, looking at Morgana in her mirror and then over at where Merlin was standing with Gwen.

"There was the trip out to the forest to find the stone," Merlin replied, reaching his hand up to rub at the back of his neck again. "But we can't really quite remember what happened out there."

"Yes, yes, I know… Merlin, may I speak with you outside for just a moment?" Gaius requested, his eyes and tone suddenly very urgent. Gwen's head cocked slightly to the side as Merlin's nodded, and Morgana's eyes merely narrowed in slight suspicion.

Gaius made sure to close Morgana's door, waited a few seconds, and then began talking to his ward.

"Merlin, please tell me you have gained even a shred of memory from your expedition out to the woods," the man pleaded, his eyes serious.

"Only images," the warlock confessed.

"That's better than nothing," Gaius pressed. "Tell me what you remember."

Merlin looked up and down the dimly lit hallway before meeting Gaius' eyes again. "Alright," he began, "Morgana and I both touched the stone at the same time after having a bit of a… quarrel."

"But you're both still alive," Gaius stated in confusion. "That woman who came to talk to Uther said her husband was killed upon contact with that stone."

"I know – I don't get it either," Merlin murmured. "I remember red lightning coursing throughout my entire body as soon as I touched the stone, and… pain. I remember terrible pain and then everything went black… The next thing I knew, I was waking up in my bed."

"…and Morgana was waking up at the same time as you," Gaius remembered, cupping his chin in his hand. Merlin reached back to run at the nape of his neck yet again, but this time, when he hand made contact with the red mark on his skin, he felt some kind of shock pierce through his fingers. He groaned in slight pain, closing his eyes, and earned a strange look from Gaius. When the warlock opened his eyes again, his mentor saw that the usual blue was now a molten gold.

"Merlin, are you using magic at a time like this?" the elderly man whispered harshly. The color of his ward's eyes returned their normal blue shade, all traces of gold gone.

"I wasn't using magic at all," Merlin told him, and Gaius saw the sincerity in his eyes.

"You eyes just turned gold for a moment, though…" the physician murmured, his confusion only growing. The two men just stared at each other in silence for a moment before Merlin's eyes suddenly went wide and a something of a surprised gasp slipped through his lips. His wide eyes flashed gold once again before they both slowly slid shut, and Merlin began to fall forward. Gaius caught his nephew in his weak arms with a gasp and slowly lowered the warlock down to the ground.

"Merlin!" Gaius muttered, shaking the young man's shoulder. Merlin didn't stir, however, and Gaius was about to squeeze the warlock's cheeks and shake his head from side to side when the door to Morgana's chambers suddenly opened. Gaius looked up to see Gwen's worry-stricken face and tear-filled eyes and Gwen looked down to notice an unconscious Merlin on the ground and a very confused Gaius trying to rouse him.

"What's wrong Guinevere?" Gaius asked her, not getting up from his crouched position by Merlin's side. Gwen looked at Merlin's ashen face, her worry increasing, before she gave her gaze to Gaius.

"Morgana," she whispered through her tears. "She just… fainted. I was tidying her bed and out of nowhere, she just fell out of her chair and when I tried to wake her, she wouldn't even stir."

Gaius stared up into Gwen's eyes, confusion swirling all around inside of him. Merlin had said that he and Morgana had touched the stone together, and now they were both experiencing the exact same things at the exact same times. What was happening to the two of them?

Gaius looked down once more at Merlin's closed eyes, and sighed. "I believe it is time for some deeper research to be done," he concluded, pushing on his knees to stand himself back up straight. "Guinevere, could you please take Merlin into the Lady Morgana's chambers? I won't be gone for too long." Gwen gave the elder a small nod before looking back down at Merlin, and then Gaius turned and walked away down the hall. Perhaps none of the books Uther allowed the physician to keep in his chambers had anything on this mysterious stone, but Gaius knew of one book in particular that definitely would, and he knew exactly where he would find it.

* * *

"Gaius, it's very good to see you!" Geoffrey greeted his friend as the physician approached the man's desk in the castle's library. Gaius gave his friend a warm smile.

"Hello Geoffrey," he responded with a nod of his head. "I'm looking for a book – it's for a very important matter at hand, and it's the only book I can think of that would have the information I need."

"Very well, my friend, what book is it that you need?" Geoffrey asked, already getting to his feet and walking around his desk. He gestured with his arm for Gaius to accompany him into the massive library, and Gaius did so.

"Well, Geoffrey, you see… it's a very old book, and it is related to relics of the Old Religion…"

Geoffrey stopped short, his smile fading as he turned his head to look Gaius in the eye. "Gaius, you have always been a very good friend of mine, but you know that I prefer to stay away from that sort of business. It could get you and I both in trouble."

"Yes, I know, but it is of great importance," Gaius pressed, his eyes urgent. "If Uther knew the reason I needed to look at it, he would not object, I can assure you."

"Then I suppose it would be appropriate for you to tell me why exactly it is you need to look at it…?" Geoffrey said, raising an eyebrow and looking at Gaius expectantly. The old physician sighed but gave his friend a nod, looking both ways before beginning.

"Merlin and Morgana both have a red mark in the shape of a dragon on the back of their neck, and I believe that it has something to do with the fact that they touched that stone at the same time – you know, the stone that woman came to Uther about? They both keep experiencing the same inflictions at the same time, and I am not sure what to make of it. I know that there is one book that would have the information I need, but I need your cooperation if I am to get it."

There was a moment of silent between the two elderly men as they stared into each other's eyes, though Gaius could tell that Geoffrey had already made up his mind to help his friend. The book that Gaius was looking for was not the most dangerous book out there, though it could still get them in trouble if they were discovered studying out of it in the wrong moment.

Geoffrey eventually sighed. "Yes, my friend, of course… what book is it you need?"

"_The Catalyst Scrolls_," Gaius answered. "If any book has the information I need, it will be that one."

"I have not seen that book in many years," Geoffrey mused, beginning to walk into the large library again with Gaius at his side. "I have not personally read it, but I have heard that there are not as many scrolls on catalysts as one may assume there to be." He turned down one of the many aisles, browsing the bookshelves on both sides with his eyes, Gaius right behind him. "Let us hope that it has this stone you are suspecting."

"If it doesn't, I don't know where else I might be able to find some information on what is happening to Merlin and Morgana," Gaius replied, scanning each and every shelf carefully. "I fear they may be in some sort of danger."

"No need to assume the negative, my friend," Geoffrey told him, trying to sound uplifting.

They were both silent again as they continued to search the shelves with their eyes, occasionally pausing and observing the spine of a book when their old eyes mistook a word for another. Gaius tried to suppress his growing anxiety as they searched, millions of questions melting through his head. What if they couldn't find the book? What if it didn't have the information he needed inside of it? What if Merlin and Morgana were already dead because he was taking too long? What if he was wrong to even think that the stone was any sort of catalyst for what the two enemies were going through? What if –

"Ah!" Geoffrey huffed, pulling an old, black book from one of the many shelves. Gaius made out the red lettering on the front to read _'The Catalyst Scrolls'_, but found himself confused. Why was it so incredibly thin? "Here it is," the librarian mused, blowing the dust away from the cover. He held the book out towards Gaius, but before the physician could grab it, Geoffrey pulled it away again.

"Geoffrey…?" Gaius questioned.

"Now Gaius… before I give this book to you, I want to know if you are completely sure you want to take the risk of looking into it. If you're caught with it, you could get in a lot of trouble, and so could I."

"I'm not planning on leaving the library with it," Gaius answered him, "unless I have to. I just want to get the information I need and get back to Merlin and Morgana as quickly as possible."

Geoffrey seemed satisfied with this answer and so he handed over the small book. Gaius ran his wrinkled hand over the aged surface of the book before slowly opening the cover. The spine was no longer very strong and the binding was weakened with age, and so the cover nearly slipped off completely when Gaius opened it, but the elderly man held onto it tightly and made a mental note to be very careful while gathering his information after almost letting the book slip from his hands. Taking a subconscious step back, Gaius dug his finger under the first page.

Page by page, he flipped, scanning each with his eyes but never coming across what he was looking for. Rare, poisonous plants that caused an immediate death, stones (never the color red) that were the source behind strange bumps to appear all over one's flesh or horrid rashes to spring up all over the skin or numerous other things, seeds that, if introduced to water, would cause the surrounding area to instantaneously be reduced to nothing more than a jungle of vines and weeds, strangling any living creature that passed through or by… but never a red stone or mark in the shape of a dragon. Gaius felt his heart drop when he reached the end of the book and hadn't seen anything relevant to what was happening with Merlin and Morgana or anything that Merlin had told him he remembered from their little expedition.

"I am sorry, Gaius," Geoffrey told him, seeing that his friend had not found what he had been desperately looking for. "Truly, I am."

Gaius didn't answer as he carefully closed the book in his hands. He didn't want to think about what might be happening to Merlin and Morgana, or what might still happen to them since they had no information. His spirits were as low as they could be as he grimly handed the book back to Geoffrey, staring down at the ground the whole time. When the book was out of his grasp, Gaius suddenly gasped. Beneath his left foot, there was a single piece of yellow parchment with a drawing of some kind of thorn on it, accompanied by many words. The physician carefully bent down and grabbed the paper, and couldn't be more surprised and happy at what he saw on the other side of the paper.

It was the dragon mark – the exact same mark that was etched onto Merlin and Morgana's skin. He recognized it instantly, and when he moved his eyes down the page, another drawing of a crimson stone was planted on the side of the paper. Both drawings were surrounded by text, and the entire page was titled 'The Crimson Catalyst'.

"Here it is, Geoffrey!" Gaius exclaimed, a smile forming on his lips. "It must have fallen out unnoticed when I first opened the book!"

"Wonderful, my friend, wonderful," Geoffrey replied, though Gaius could hear the worry in his voice. "I shall leave you to gather your information; be as quick as you can, please." With a nod from both men, Geoffrey hurried away from Gaius, leaving the man to scan over each and every word on the piece of parchment that was now grasped tightly in his hands.

With every word he read, Gaius could feel his earlier anxiety creeping back up on him. The stone had definitely been the catalyst of the mark, but it was the mark that was the true catalyst of the random golden flash of Merlin's eyes and of he and Morgana both falling unconscious at the same time. Red lightning, like Merlin had told him about, was mentioned when the text spoke of the first encounter with the stone, but only those with magic would survive. Mere mortals were not to be so lucky – or, _un_lucky. Mortals got a quick, sudden, unexpected death, while those with magic…

Gaius covered his mouth when he read the second to the last sentence on the paper. But… how could that be true? How could that be possible? Surely, it wasn't… Surely, this was a mistake. But… that made no sense either! Merlin and Morgana were both in more danger than he was expecting them to be in, and in a rush he dropped the paper to the ground and fled from the library, not responding to Geoffrey's worried question. Why did Merlin have to go after that stone? Why couldn't he have just let Arthur destroy the thing and be done with it?

When Arthur's name crossed his mind, Gaius was reminded that the prince hadn't said anything about seeing a stone near Merlin and Morgana. He and his men had been unsuccessful in finding it themselves, and he had said that the probable explanation as to Merlin and Morgana's unconsciousness was either a slip in the mud and a hit to the head or they were attacked by a lone bandit who managed to get away before the knights could move in. Nothing about a stone was brought up… but then where had it gone? Merlin and Morgana had surely touched it together, but Arthur hadn't seen it anywhere… nothing was making sense anymore!

Gaius stormed into Morgana's chambers without a single knock and noticed first that Merlin and Morgana were just beginning to come back to. The first place each of their hands went was the back of their necks and they each groaned in discomfort. Gwen looked up as the door was burst open, and got to her feet when she realized it was Gaius. Her hopeful expression changed to one of confusion when she saw the horrible look of worry and anger on the man's face.

"Gaius… what's wrong?" she asked, approaching him. He looked to her as Merlin and Morgana shared a sharp gaze, but neither could deny that they were looking at each other out of complete confusion.

"I need to speak with them alone, if I may, Guinevere," the physician told her softly, though his eyes suggested nothing of the softness in his tone. Gwen's confusion grew as she looked into Gaius' bright blue eyes.

"Oh, um… of course, Gaius," she responded. "I need to fetch… something anyway." With one quick look in Merlin and Morgana's direction, Gwen scuttled out of the room, closing the door behind her. Gaius pulled one of the chairs from Morgana's table over to the side of the large bed where the two enemies sat, still looking at each other.

"Merlin," Gaius tried getting his attention. "Morgana." Both turned their heads in his direction and gave him their attention. "I know you two aren't… getting along very well at the time being, but you are going to have to forget about your feud with each other if you want to live."

"What on earth are you talking about, Gaius?" Morgana asked, her eyebrows rising in both confusion and slight anger.

"Something is very wrong with the both of you, and it has to do with that stone you both touched," the elderly man went on. Morgana opened her mouth to protest, but Gaius held up his hand. "Merlin told me already what happened, my Lady. I am not scolding either of you for doing what you did, although it has turned out that it has very bad repercussions."

"…what kind of repercussions?" Merlin asked nervously. Gaius looked into his ward's blue eyes momentarily before switching his gaze to Morgana's pale green eyes, and suddenly noticed how pale both of them looked. They were both pale to start out with, he knew this, but at this moment… they both looked absolutely ashen. Merlin reached up to rub at the back of his neck again, waiting for Gaius to answer his question, and Morgana did the same.

"Gaius…?" Morgana said, leaning slightly forward. Gaius shook his head, trying to remember what it was that the mark was doing to them. His thoughts were so jumbled at the moment, and he fought to keep them all organized.

It suddenly came to him again, and the same pang of horror that had hit him earlier smashed into him again. He felt his stomach knot up as he tried his best to regain his calm composure, but to no avail. He looked Merlin in the eye, and then Morgana, and took in a deep, pained breath.

"You're both losing your magic," he announced quietly to them, closing his eyes. Merlin felt his heart almost stop as Morgana thought that her eyes would pop out of her head they were so wide. "And… you are both dying," Gaius murmured, before becoming silent. The room was still, its occupants silent, and both Merlin and Morgana felt their lives take a jerk in the opposite direction that they wanted.

* * *

**A/N: I hope I wrote Geoffrey correctly. I've always loved the old guy, he's so awesome in my opinion. XD**

**So we're getting into the plot a bit more with this chapter, but I'm still trying to keep you guys on the edge of your seats! ;D I'm so excited to get to the thick of it all, but I'd also love to hear what you guys have to say about what's here so far! ((Lol, see how smoothly I slid that in...? XD)) So please review! They make my day! Seriously! 8D**

**(( Claire ))**

**P.S. ~ Also! A link to a picture I found online that I based the dragon mark's appearance off of can be found on my profile! Check it out to give you a little more of a picture of what the mark really looks like! :)  
**


	6. Chapter Six

**A/N: Hey everybody! I am soooooo so SO sorry that this update took so long! I have had a VERY bad case of writer's block, and I thought it was done when I updated two of my other stories but... I was wrong! DX Not even a story involving the wonderfulness that is Mergana could lure me in to write it cuz my writer's block was so bad. And I do blame my writer's block for the suckiness of this chapter also... I'm really not too happy about this one. It's the longest chapter up to date, but I'm still none too proud of how it was written. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Merlin very awkwardly got to his feet, moving behind where Gaius was sitting, and putting his lips right next to the elderly man's ear. The warlock couldn't help but notice that he was shaking uncontrollably.

"Gaius," he hissed. "What _are_ you talking about?" The physician sighed.

"The problem you both are dealing with is a magical one that only those with magic can experience," he explained. "I figured it would be better to just get the big shock over with as early as possible."

"I don't understand," Merlin said, almost angrily, as he walked back out in front of Gaius. "I just… don't understand."

"If a mere mortal touches the stone, they will die on the spot, like that woman's husband did," Gaius told him. "But if a person who possesses magic were to touch it, they would slowly die over the course of a couple weeks, all the while having their magic slowly sucked out of them along with their energy."

Morgana was completely frozen in shock, her eyes glued on the floor. The only words that kept repeating themselves in her head were _'Merlin has magic.'_ But that was impossible… he was nothing but a mere servant! There was no way he was a sorcerer! He did whatever he could to protect both Arthur and Uther from any sort of threats against Camelot, even magical threats. Why would he protect the ones who killed his own kind every single day? Why would he turn his back on his own kind?

If she was honest with herself, Morgana was furious with him. He could have helped her when her magic was just beginning to show… but instead he hid it away from her. He wouldn't help a fellow sorcerer in their time of need? He had left her completely in the dark! He may have helped her seek out the Druids and been willing to get caught by Arthur so that she and Mordred could get away, but he had kept his very own magical abilities a secret from her! What kind of sorcerer was he?

Or maybe this was all just an incredibly divine prank. Maybe they were trying to pull a fast one on her to try to prove that they weren't as stupid as she thought them to be. When she really thought about it, it made no sense for Merlin to have any magical abilities whatsoever. Who was Gaius trying to fool? Merlin? A sorcerer? She couldn't believe that she had actually believed it and had been contemplating the idea! There was no way that such a pest like Merlin possessed any sort of the wondrous gift of magic.

"I think you may have hit your head or something, Gaius," Merlin said, shaking the old man's shoulder lightly. "Why would you even try to pass such a ridiculous idea like me possessing magic off as the truth?"

"Yes, Gaius, why would you?" Morgana finally joined in. Merlin and Gaius' eyes both flipped to look at the Lady, and when Morgana looked up to meet Merlin's eyes, she saw pure terror in his bright blue irises. She looked at him quizzically, resulting in him moving his gaze to the floor, and started to second guess her earlier thoughts. Why would he look so horrified if he was so sure of not having magic?

"Morgana, Merlin and I are the only ones in Camelot who know of your magical talents," Gaius began, "and I fear Merlin may have a little more knowledge about you than me." Morgana shot daggers out of her eyes at Merlin before looking back at Gaius. "And I do know that you and he are butting heads right now, but I do mean what I say."

"Gaius, stop," Merlin ordered, though it sounded more like some sort of beg or plea. Morgana's eyes returned to Merlin's face to see that the man's eyes were now on his mentor. Morgana was beginning to slowly freeze in shock once again, realizing how true Gaius' words actually were. Merlin did have magic… he really did… Merlin was a sorcerer…

"Merlin, she would have found out within the next two weeks anyway, so we need to just get it out of the way," Gaius told his ward. Morgana felt her heart skip a beat as Gaius turned back to face her. Merlin turned away from the both of them and walked quietly over to one of the windows that looked over the outer forests. "Morgana, I must beg you not to tell a soul, despite the differences that are between you and Merlin at this point in time."

"Please, Gaius… don't say it," she told him, holding up her hand. Gaius' eyebrows rose. "…there is no way that Merlin could be losing his magic, because there is no way that he has magic," she concluded. Merlin felt his breath hitch as he stared out the window, from both relief and guilt, and then he turned back to face Morgana and Gaius.

"Now that _that's_ out of the way," Merlin muttered, eyeing Gaius directly as he walked back over to the two, "tell us more about this thing."

"Only those who possess magic can acquire that mark," Gaius pressed.

"Well Morgana has magic and I touched the stone at the same time she did, so perhaps this stone got confused and just assumed I had magic too," Merlin replied, staring into Gaius' eyes.

That made perfect sense, Morgana thought, feeling relief wash through her body yet again. But at the same time that she wanted to believe what Merlin said, she couldn't shake the image of his terrified eyes from her mind. And, thinking back, there had been so many times throughout Merlin's stay in Camelot that something unexplainable had happened out of the blue… and Merlin had always been there when it did.

Gaius held up his arms in a surrendering way, giving up on the subject. Merlin's explanation did sound believable, and it would be better if Morgana didn't know about his magic. He suddenly felt like such a fool; what had he been doing, trying to expose Merlin's magic to Morgana when such an easy solution was right in front of him?

"Now please, Gaius…" Merlin pleaded. "Tell us more about this… thing."

"Like I said, your magic is slowly being sucked out of you, or, well, Morgana's is," Gaius started, eyeing Merlin quickly. "Merlin, I can not tell you for sure what your symptoms will be, but your energy will most likely be drained out of you in replace of the… the magic. Both of you, however, will die in a matter of weeks if you do not work together to find the only known cure."

"And what is this cure?" Morgana asked tensely, not at all prepared to work together with Merlin. They were enemies now; how did Gaius honestly expect them to get along and work together?

"There is a cave far from Camelot that is full of those stones," Gaius explained. "You must go to this cave if you wish to be cured."

"But what do we do once we reach the cave?" Merlin asked, just as unwilling to cooperate with Morgana as she was with him. They both threw each other a side glance at the same time, resulting in both looking quickly away from each other simultaneously as well.

"I'm not… I'm not quite sure," Gaius admitted. "The Scrolls weren't specific on that part."

"Why the hell would they not be specific about the most important information!" Merlin growled angrily, scratching at the back of his neck yet again.

"Perhaps the answer will reveal itself to you on your journey," Gaius said wisely.

"…certainly we won't be travelling alone," Morgana said, staring at Gaius. "It would be far too dangerous, wouldn't you agree? I may have magic but I'm not a master and Merlin here would be completely defenseless, even if you gave him a sword." Merlin tossed her a scowl, earned a smirk in return, and then turned back towards Gaius.

"It is for the best that you two make this journey on your own," Gaius stated, looking into Morgana's eyes and then into Merlin's. "No one can know where you're going or why, especially the king."

"Why don't we just send some knights to retrieve some stones from this cave?" Morgana questioned.

"Once again, no one can know about what is happening to the two of you," Gaius pressed, leaning forward slightly. "And you need to have control over your own situation. The knights wouldn't be able to feel the energy drainage that you will, therefore they'll have no knowledge of how slow or fast they're moving. I don't know the exact number of days that it will take for you to die, so we wouldn't be able to give them any sort of time limit, but you two could attain some sort of that knowledge."

Merlin and Morgana shared a short look, and in the brief moment that their eyes locked, both noticed that the other failed to attain any sort of hatred or dread. Uncertainty, fear, and worry were all present in both of their pairs of eyes, and Merlin was much more surprised than Morgana to see such emotions in her usually cold eyes.

"Gaius is right," Merlin finally spoke aloud, breaking the awkward silence that had settled in around them. "We will need to make this journey alone, and work together."

"Of course," Morgana agreed, though she slightly bit her lip as she pushed herself to her feet. "I'm sure all that training with Arthur has done you _some_ sort of good with the sword."

Merlin ignored her snide remark and instead turned back towards Gaius, who was now also on his feet. "How are we supposed to get out of Camelot unnoticed?" the young warlock asked his guardian.

"The grate in the jail cells," Morgana spoke up, remembering all that time ago when she and Arthur had planned to sneak the young Druid boy, Mordred, out of Camelot through that grate. Surely Merlin would remember it as well, seeing as he had taken Morgana's position in the plan.

Merlin nodded, his lips turned down in a frown. He liked the idea of travelling alone with Morgana for who knows how long as much as King Uther liked magic. "How do we get past the guards?" he asked.

"I'm the King's ward, I'm sure I can manage to get us past a couple of guards playing dice," Morgana replied, smirking. Merlin rolled his eyes and looked back at Gaius.

"Are you sure-"

"I am," Gaius interrupted.

"How will you explain our absence?" Morgana questioned, walking over to one of her dressers and pulling open one of the drawers. She brought out the same outfit she had worn on the earlier expedition, it having already been washed by Gwen, and brought it back over to her bed.

"I'm sure I will think of something," Gaius answered. He then motioned for Merlin to follow him. "Come along Merlin, we must get you packed and ready."

Merlin nodded at Gaius and began following him towards the door, but looked back and shared one last stare with Morgana before exiting the room altogether. The hallway outside was quiet and empty, the sound of Morgana's door opening and closing echoing against the stone walls. Gaius grabbed Merlin's upper arm harshly and began walking him down the hall towards their shared chambers.

"Gaius, I hardly ever question you, but I'm not entirely sure if this is one of your better ideas," Merlin stated as they walked along. "You know Morgana…"

"Yes, I do know her, and I know how much she cares for her own life. Which is exactly why she will not kill you; even if she doesn't want to believe it, she will need you on this journey if she wants to live through it."

"Are you forgetting who convinced her to betray Camelot? Morgause will be right there for her sister every step of the way, neither of them will need me alive for anything."

Gaius paused momentarily before responding, "They will once you tell them one last bit of information that I left out earlier."

"Why would you leave anything out?" Merlin asked, his voice a whisper now that they had entered more crowded hallways. Gaius hushed him and continued walking, his elderly hand still clasped around Merlin's bony arm. Minutes later, they arrived back at their chambers, and Gaius hurried Merlin through the door before closing it and locking the hatch.

"Because I had to," he finally answered Merlin's question. He began crossing the room towards a table filled with little glass vials and bottles, some full of differently colored liquids and some completely empty. "Actually… it just never really came to mind until you and I left Morgana's room."

"Never came to mind?" Merlin repeated, astonished as he followed Gaius over to the cluttered table. "How could anything involved with this situation not come to your mind?"

"I'm an old man, Merlin, some things just slip my mind sometimes," Gaius said in such a voice that didn't have Merlin responding again. The elderly man then began picking up various bottles, observing the liquids inside, and then separating them into two groups. Merlin decided to go back into his room and begin packing for the trip, no matter how much he didn't want to go. It had merely been second nature earlier, but now, as he would packing, he would notice and have a very small panic attack every time he reached up to scratch or rub at the back of his neck. Now that he knew what it was and what it was doing to him… and his magic… it was no longer just a nuisance to his skin.

"Damned stone…" he muttered angrily to himself, stuffing his red neckerchief into his bag. Deciding he had enough clothes to last him, he pulled his light blue neckerchief around his throat to rest over top of his red tunic, following that by slipping into his usual brown jacket. He grabbed his bag off his bed and made his way back out to where Gaius was carefully setting a multitude of little glass bottles into a small pouch.

"These are for your journey," the physician said, pulling the pouch closed and holding it towards his ward. "In case either of you need them."

"You can't honestly expect me to know what the hell each of these are for," Merlin said incredulously, raising an eyebrow and looking into Gaius' worried eyes.

"I put an enchantment on them," Gaius explained. "If one of you become ill or acquire an injury, all you must do is carefully hold the bag over the point of the most pain or discomfort and the bottle containing the correct medicine will begin to glow." Both of Merlin's eyebrows rose once Gaius had finished, and the young warlock was impressed.

"How did you-"

"We have no time for questions such as those," Gaius ushered, pushing Merlin towards the door again. "We must get you and Morgana safely out of Camelot as soon as possible."

"Wait, wait, you never told me what you left out earlier," Merlin said, suddenly stopping and turning to face the old man.

"Oh, yes, yes! Er… right. You and Morgana are now connected. One cannot die without the other dying as well. Tell this to Morgana, and neither she nor Morgause will cause you harm."

Merlin's eyes were wide. "Why did you leave _that_ out?" he practically shrieked.

"Merlin, please!" Gaius pressed, twirling the young man back around towards the door. "We haven't got all night!"

Deciding not to pester him further, Merlin allowed Gaius to lead him through the doorway and all the way back to Morgana's room, where the Lady was dressed in her battle clothes. The large metal belt around her waist reflected the early moonlight streaming in through the window, but the first thing Merlin noticed when he and Gaius entered the room was the immediate grimace she had upon seeing him. Gwen was stuffing other clothes into a bag on the bed, but looked up from her work when the two men entered the room.

"Gaius, thank goodness," she said, standing up. "Please tell me what's going on."

"I will, Gwen, once we get these two out of the city," Gaius responded.

"Where are they going?" the frazzled maid asked, walking quickly over to the elderly physician. Morgana closed her packed bag and pulled the straps onto her shoulders as Gaius took Gwen's hands in his own.

"Guinevere, I promise you I will tell you everything as soon as they are on their way," he told her, looking urgently into her worried eyes. "Merlin, Morgana, are you ready to go?"

The two of them looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment before looking away. "Yes, Gaius," they said simultaneously, and then flinched together as well. Gaius walked over to the door and opened it once again, poking his head out and looking both ways down the hall before waving the others over to follow after him. Merlin went first, Morgana following behind, and Gwen took up the rear, still very confused as to what was going on.

They carefully and quietly made their way through the castle, avoiding any guards that they could. Anybody that they couldn't avoid, they merely walked in one line and hid Morgana on the opposite side of them as the person they had to get past. No one would ask why Merlin looked packed up to leave, but if the King's very ward were to be seen… anyone and everyone would become suspicious.

When they came to the top of the staircase leading down to the jail cells, they all stopped. They couldn't see them, but they could hear the two guards on duty playing with their dice down below. Morgana started to make her way down the stairs, prepared to use her position in the royal household to her advantage, but Gaius quietly stopped her before she got too far. She lifted an eyebrow, but Gaius merely looked at Merlin sternly. The young warlock nodded once, and before Morgana could argue Gaius was descending the stairwell by himself. Merlin motioned for Morgana and Gwen to get up against the metal railing, and once they had he began leading them cautiously and slowly down the stairs. He kept his eyes on Gaius as the old man stepped down onto the dirty floor at the bottom of the staircase, watching his guardian closely for what he knew to be looking for.

"Gaius," one of the guards greeted him, standing up from the small wooden table and walking over to the elderly man. "Is there something you need?"

"I was sent by the King to look over one of the prisoners," Gaius replied, his voice completely calm. "He wanted me to see if a specific prisoner in… questionable health has died yet."

"Of course," the other guard said, also standing up. "Which prisoner is it he sent you to see?"

"I don't know his name but I would know his face if I saw it. I'm fairly certain that he's kept in a cell down this way…" Gaius said, pointing towards the cells to the left. Both guards nodded, grabbed their spears leaning up against the wall, and then lead Gaius into the cells, one guard before him and one guard after. Merlin waited for them to be completely out of sight before nodding at Morgana and Gwen and beginning to quickly descend the stairs. He kept his eyes locked on the doorway that Gaius and the guards had just gone through, motioning for Morgana and Gwen to hurry through the other way.

"Go, go," he whispered at them. They hurried across the floor and through the doorway opposite the one Gaius had gone through, and when Merlin was sure they were through, he turned and ran after them. Merlin lead the girls through the many cells, happy that there were no guards or prisoners on this side of the jail, and then stopped once they reached the grate at the end. He cursed silently, grabbing at the metal bars and pulling at them.

"How are we supposed to get out?" Morgana asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," Merlin replied. "We just need to wait…"

"Wait?" the Lady exclaimed quietly. "We have no time to wait!"

"Please, Morgana, just… be quiet and stay patient," Merlin pressed, trying not to sound too harsh about it. "I'm sure Gaius has some sort of plan as to how we're going to get out."

"…will one of you please explain to me what this is all about?" Gwen asked once again, badly wanting to become aware of what it was that they were doing. Both Merlin and Morgana looked into Gwen's eyes.

"Gaius will be able to explain it to you better and in more detail," Merlin told her. "Don't worry about it – he said he would tell you."

"I just want to know-"

"We're sick, Guinevere," Morgana cut her off, looking sharply into her eyes. The Lady knew that they had once been the closest of friends, but now Morgana found herself being annoyed very easily by the maidservant. "Very sick, and we have to find the cure."

The tone of Morgana's voice kept Gwen from asking any more about it. So the three of them stayed kneeled there by the grate, completely silent and still for ten minutes. Morgana's patience was beginning to disappear, and she felt her teeth grinding together behind her lips. One thought and one thought only was passing through her mind at the moment, and that was the thought of Merlin possessing any sort of magic. It was a ridiculous thought, she knew it, but… it just kept nagging her.

Suddenly, the bushes outside the grate rustled without a breeze of wind passing by. Merlin jumped slightly, and then quickly ushered the girls up against the wall. Each of them held their breath as a shadow loomed outside and the bushes began moving more and more, and Merlin fought against his rising magic. They could not get caught in this spot, they just couldn't…

"Merlin!" a voice hissed, and the young warlock's eyes widened. "Merlin, are you there?"

"Of course I'm here!" Merlin responded, recognizing the familiar voice and finally letting out the breath he had been holding in. "What in the world took you so long?"

Gaius brushed past the bush outside and stopped in front of the grate, a rope in one hand and some sort of metal object in his other. Morgana and Gwen also released their breaths and came away from the wall, kneeling down by the grate again.

"I had to… pick something up," he responded. He then revealed the metal object to be a large grappling hook, exactly like the one that Merlin had gone to get when helping in Mordred's escape. Gaius began carefully tying the rope around the end of the grapping hook as Merlin's eyebrows rose.

"Where and how did you get that thing?" the young man asked incredulously.

"No time for that," Gaius answered quickly, slipping the grappling hook between the bars of the grate. As Gaius began pulling on the rope, the other three pushed against the grate repeatedly. After a few rough pushes and continuous pulling, the grate pulled free and Merlin lead the girls out into the bushes. Once they were out, Gaius pushed the grate back up into its usual position and hid the grappling hook and rope in the bushes.

"I wasn't able to get you two horses," Gaius explained as he came out of the bushes. "I didn't say where I was going but I left on a horse and… that was the only horse I was able to get without directing any suspicion to me."

Merlin and Morgana shared another look of distaste. "You're expecting us to share a horse?" Merlin asked in shock, looking into his guardian's eyes for any hint of anything otherwise. Gaius solemnly nodded his head, understanding the uncomfortable look in his ward's eyes.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but that is what it is," he said. Merlin sighed and looked back at Morgana, who was now talking quietly with Gwen. "Merlin," Gaius started, "take this with you. It will lead you to where you need to go." The physician thrust a rolled up piece of parchment into his nephew's hands hurriedly, as if he didn't want the girls to catch him doing so.

Tucking the paper into a pocket on the inside of his jacket, Merlin said, "Gaius, are sure this is a good idea?"

Gaius sighed. "No, Merlin, I'm not, but you have no other choice. You have your magic to protect you, don't forget that."

Merlin nodded slowly before turning to face the two girls. Gwen was checking to see that everything Morgana would need had been packed into her bag, and nodded when she was sure that everything was there. Merlin sighed hugely and then made his way over to the waiting horse, patting its neck and scratching its nose first.

"Are we leaving?" Morgana asked, walking over to him. He turned his head to look at her and nodded, walking over to the horse's side and hoisting himself up into the saddle. He then reached down to offer his help to Morgana, but she refused to take his hand and instead got herself up onto the horse behind him. Merlin rolled his eyes, facing away from her, and didn't suggest to her to wrap her arms around his waist when she didn't.

"Good luck," Gaius said to them, now standing with Gwen back near the bushes in front of the grate. "And be careful!"

Merlin nodded over at him. "Don't worry… we will be."

Without another word from anybody, Merlin lightly kicked into the horse's sides and sent him and his worst enemy off into the dark forest.

* * *

**A/N: See what I mean when I say I'm not too happy about it? XP At the beginning, I really just wanted to mess with Morgana's head about the whole Merlin having magic thing, which is why everything seems so jumbled around, but I do still wish I could have written it better. Damn writer's block kills me.**

**So anyway! Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it! I will try my damn best to get the next chapter up in better time, I promise! And yes, we are beginning to get into the good stuff now that Merlin and Morgana have finally actually set off! ;)  
**

**(( Claire ))**

**P.S. ~ I put up a new poll on my profile page! Head on over and submit your votes please! I'd love to know what my fellow fanfiction authors/readers are thinking about that subject! :)  
**


End file.
